Municipalities react to quarry picks for landfills

The municipalities of Kropia and Megara in Attica are reacting to a report that two disused quarries in their jurisdictions will be used as sanitary landfills to manage the Greek capital’s waste, saying the areas are inappropriate.

Kathimerini revealed on Tuesday that the quarries near the towns of Koropi and Megara, along with a facility under construction at Grammatiko, have been selected by Attica’s Solid Waste Management Authority (EDSNA) to replace Athens’s main landfill at Fyli.

The European Commission has repeatedly fined Greece millions of euros over environmental violations at Fyli.

In a press release on Wednesday, ESDNA indirectly confirmed Kathimerini’s report, expressing surprise at the municipalities’ reaction and claiming the quarry sites had already been announced in 2003 and 2017 respectively.

The Municipality of Kropia claims the Koropi site is too close to Athens International Airport (5.9 km) and the town of Koropi (1.2 km).